Actor Ishaan Khattar, who is receiving a lot of good response to his streaming film ‘Pippa’, has said that the PT-76 tank or as it is “lovingly” called ‘Pippa is a true war hero and he will never forget the experience of operating a real tank.
The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious light tank that was introduced after World War II in the early 1950s, and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Treaty armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states like India, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam.
In a way, it is the successor of the DD Sherman tank which was used by American, British, and Canadian forces for the D-Day landings during the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War 2.
Talking about his experience, Ishaan told IANS: “The PT-76 tank or as we lovingly call it ‘Pippa’ is a character in the film and is one of the central driving forces of the film if not the only driving force. It was a true war hero of that time and the fact that we got to shoot and live and interact with Pippa, enhanced my performance because as an actor you’re feeding off Pippa’s energy given that it’s the titular character.”
Pippa was used in the Battle of Garibpur fought between India and Pakistan for the control of the village of Garibpur, now in Bangladesh. On 20 November, 1971, Indian troops of the 14th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment with 14 supporting PT-76 tanks from the 45 Cavalry moved in to capture the areas around Garibpur in (East) Pakistani territory.
The actor further mentioned: “At one point Pippa became a part of me. Cavaliers were horsemen initially, so it was literally like riding this thing, navigating and controlling it. My body will never forget that experience of being with Pippa. It will forever be one of the most special experiences of my life and definitely one of the core memories.”
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of RSVP and Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films, ‘Pippa’ is streaming on Prime Video.
